


That's Dumb

by HowardR



Series: The Stories of Astronomer Price [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Bedtime Stories, Children's Stories, Dialogue Heavy, Dialogue-Only, Gen, Sexuality Crisis, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:54:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowardR/pseuds/HowardR
Summary: The story of Chloe Price and the Frozen Lake is over, and Mae has some questions.
Series: The Stories of Astronomer Price [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120934
Kudos: 5





	That's Dumb

**Wait - I don’t get it.**

**_Really? What don’t you get?_ **

**So they were… just, like, friends?**

**_Who said they were just friends?_ **

**Well, it seemed like the dead person - Max? - was a girl.**

**_Yes. She was._ **

**And… Price is a girl.**

**_Yep._ **

**So they were friends.**

**_Why do you assume that?_ **

**Cause girls can’t be - like - married. Or, like… boyfriend/girlfriend. Or whatever.**

**_Partners._ **

**Yeah. They can’t be partners.**

**_Well, Mae - while_ ** **you** **_might not like other girls the same way the you like boys, other girls certainly can. Girls can be partners just as much as girls and boys can._ **

**...I don’t get it. Mom and Dad always say that I’m only supposed to like boys. And only boys and girls get together in the shows and books. And Mom** **_really_ ** **wants me to have kids…**

**_But you don’t want to have kids, right?_ **

**NEVER.**

**_But your mother wants you to?_ **

**...Yeah, I guess.**

**_So if you don’t want one thing that your mother wants… why can’t you also_ ** **be** **_something your mother doesn’t want? If mom can be wrong, then maybe she’s wrong about this?_ **

**But… girls don’t get with other girls.**

**_Then why do you think they were written that way in this story, Mae?_ **

**Well. It’s not real.**

**_...Who said it wasn’t real?_ **

**Well, there are like. Gods. And ghosts. And stuff. And, like, I don’t know if that stuff is real.**

**_Well, Mae - the person who wrote these stories down… I think she liked girls, too. Just like Price._ **

**Oh, right, I also wanted to ask about that. Why did that girl at the end call her Chloe?**

**_Well, that’s her first name._ **

**But she only let people call her Price during the story.**

**_...Sometimes love makes you do odd things, Mae._ **

**That’s dumb. People in love are dumb.**

**_Sometimes, yes. Very dumb._ **

**I don’t wanna be in love.**

**_Well. That’s alright. You might never be. But you don’t really have a choice a lot of the time._ **

**Were you dumb with Grandma?**

**_...Yes, now and again. I was._ **

**But, like. You’re never dumb.**

**_I was very dumb, Mae. Once upon a time. I think that everyone is dumb at some point._ **

**I’m never gonna be dumb. I’m smart.**

**_Heh. Yes, you are._ **

**...Now I’m all hyper. I don’t wanna go to bed.**

**_You have to sleep some time, kitten._ **

**What was up with that evil girl in the Huncher’s Hollow? And that kid? And Corvin? Why was that weird Father there? What was up with all the burned stuff? Did the Forest God grant her that blessing? What** **_is_ ** **the Forest God?**

**_Well, I think that girl in the Huncher’s Hollow was the Huncher. And as for the rest… well, there are more stories, y’know._ **

**There are????**

**_Yep._ **

**You better tell me all of them.**

**_Heheh. Well, some pages of this book are ripped up. It’s an old copy. I don’t know if I can tell you all of them._ **

**Well. That’s okay. Most of them, then.**

**_Not tonight, kitten. It’s late. Go to sleep._ **

**...Hey, Grandpa?**

**_Yes, Mae?_ **

**...You really think it’s okay? To… like other girls?**

**_Yes. It’s okay._ **

**…**

**_Penny for your thoughts?_ **

**What does that mean?**

**_It means ‘tell me what you’re thinking,’ without sounding rude._ **

**Oh. Well. Uh. ...Nothing.**

**_...How about this. I’ll tell you another story tomorrow night - and afterwards, you have to tell me what you’re thinking about. Okay?_ **

**Okay.**

**_Night, Mae._ **

**...Mom would still love me, right?**

**_Hm?_ **

**If I… liked girls.**

**_...I’m sure she would, Mae. She’s just… from an older time. She might not get it at first, but nothing you do will stop her from loving you._ **

**No. That’s dumb. I don’t want that.**

**_Hm?_ **

**That’s like. Chaining someone up. I don’t want her to** **_have_ ** **to love me. That’s, like. Weird. I want her to** **_want_ ** **to love me.**

**_...That’s very sweet, Mae. But no matter what you want - she’s your mother. It’s… almost her job to love you._ **

**See? This is why I don’t want kids.**

**_Good night, Mae._ **

**Night, Grandpa.**

**Author's Note:**

> Yo yo yo I'm continuing this AU. Sue me. This is just a short little something to get warmed up, before I do a whole next story. Mae and her grandfather are both just a *tiny* bit OOC. Hopefully I'll get a little better at writing them and iron out those wrinkles soon.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> -Howard R.


End file.
